What if Life was Fair?
by Hieirulesall
Summary: Kakashi ponders how things would have turned out if Naruto and Sasuke hadn't grown up alone. He certainly believes that Minato and Itachi would have had a lot to say about him being their teacher. one-shot


I'd like to take this opportunity to warn people that this story may come off as a bit confusing. It wasn't really meant to make complete sense, since it is just a one-shot right now. My best advice is to take it for what it is and try to enjoy. Basically, I found myself wondering how things would have gone if Naruto and Sasuke's lives didn't suck for various reasons. I didn't want it to be written like an actual story though. I also didn't want it to be bound by having to make too much sense. So, this is what Kakashi thinks their lives would have been like. You'll understand more when you read it, I guess.

What if Life was Fair?

It was not a rare sight to see the white-haired ninja known as Kakashi Hatake sitting in front of the memorial that was dedicated to those ninja who died in their service to Konoha. In fact, he was there quite often and now was one of those times.

Kakashi sat cross-legged in front of the large stone upon which the names were written. He traced a hand over certain names. Minato Namikaze: the Fourth Hokage, Kakashi's sensei, and, most relevant to the jounin's current train of thought, Naruto's father. There were times when he wondered how Naruto would have turned out with a father there to raise him and protect him. While Kakashi knew that many things would be different if Yondaime was still alive, he couldn't help but think about his student, in particular, would have been changed. It wasn't really fair that Naruto should have been denied knowing what a great person Minato was.

There was one particular section of the monument that always drew Kakashi's attention: the list of those Uchiha who had been murdered by Itachi. While he wouldn't say that Sasuke's parents had been the best, he knew their loss, compounded with the loss of the rest of the clan was what had affected the youngest Uchiha so deeply. So much about that situation was wrong though. He wondered, not only what Sasuke would have been like with his clan alive, but also what he would have been like with Itachi there to help him along the way. It wasn't really fair that Sasuke should have been denied the loving family that would have helped him to be even greater than he was.

The white-haired jounin sighed as his fingers fell away from the names carved into the stone. There were so many things about all of their lives that could have been different. Kakashi knew for certain that the day when he first met them would have been different.

(( _inside Kakashi's head_ ))

Today was a day when Kakashi had once again been assigned another genin team, him never having passed any of the previous ones. He had already received the list of his students and was supposed to go meet up with them now. Somehow, he found himself staring blankly at the list in his hand, wondering how he could have possibly gotten stuck in such a situation. Had he complained to anyone, they would have questioned why he wasn't happy with it. All he could do, though, was stare at the first two names: Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.

Once Kakashi got himself under control, he made his way to the Academy, though it took some effort to force himself to get there. He was about to enter when a loud voice called his name.

"Kakashi!" a suspiciously cheerful Minato Namikaze came waltzing up to him, a far-to-happy look on his face. "Can't you believe that today is the day that Naruto got assigned his jounin instructor? I'm so proud."

"Uh…yeah," Kakashi said nervously, slipping the list into his pocket. "I'm sure he'll do very well."

"Kakashi," Yondaime's voice had turned very serious now. "If you fail my son, I will have to remind you exactly why I am Hokage."

The white-haired ninja nervously stepped back, wondering if there was any chance of escape. While he loved his old sensei very much, possibly more than life itself, he wouldn't deny that Minato could be very scary sometimes. He also wouldn't say that Minato's concerns about Kakashi being a teacher were unfounded. Waving his hands in front of him, as if to ward off the man, he stepped further back. "Sensei, I'm sure Naruto will do fine. You did raise him after all, so he really might pass."

"I am not at all comfortable with you as his teacher," Minato said tightly.

"You were the one who told me to become a teacher in the first place," Kakashi yelped.

"That was over a year ago! I didn't expect you to fail everyone they gave you!" the Hokago shouted, though there was no anger in his voice.

"You failed lots of teams before you got mine," Kakashi reminded him.

"That was different," Minato informed him tartly.

"How?"

"Naruto's my son!" By now, Kakashi had realized that Yondaime's attitude was not out of anger or because he genuinely thought Kakashi would be a bad teacher, he was worried that Naruto might not pass.

"Sensei, please calm down. Naruto will do fine. I don't want to fail everyone, I just want the right team. You should have confidence in him," Kakashi reassured the man.

"Alright."

That was easy, Kakashi thought suspiciously. "Alright?" he questioned.

"Alright. Naruto's entire team will have to pass anyways and I'm sure that will happen," Minato said with a happy nod.

"Why are you so sure?" Kakashi asked growing worried.

A sudden voice behind him caused his blood to run cold. "Kakashi, I swear if Sasuke's team fails, you'll never get the chance to have another team again," came a chilling voice behind him.

Kakashi spun around to find himself face-to-face with Itachi's sharingan eyes. Over the years, Kakashi had grown to become friends with the Uchiha genius. They had connected on several points, not the least of which was the fact that they both graduated extremely early and had worked together in ANBU for a while. Still, that didn't mean the Uchiha didn't worry him a bit and was just as capable of kicking his ass as Kakashi's own sensei was.

The white haired ninja found himself backing away from both of them now, inching closer and closer to the door of the Academy. Any chance to escape and he would take it.

"I don't see why you're both so worried," he said, hoping to delay them.

"Kakashi, even if you do pass them, you are a very strange person. You will make an even stranger teacher," Itachi informed him bluntly. Minato nodded his agreement.

"You told me I should be a teacher too," Kakashi grumbled, annoyed with them both now.

"Not to Sasuke," Itachi informed him.

"I'm probably the best teacher for Sasuke," Kakashi argued. "None of the other jounin will be able to help him much with the sharingan and I can."

"That is true…" Itachi murmured thoughtfully.

"So, you'll trust me as his teacher now?" Kakashi asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not."

Kakashi sighed. He couldn't help but feel that this was a bit of a ridiculous conversation to have. Minato was probably the proudest father that he had ever met and Itachi had always been certain in Sasuke's skills that put him above everyone else in the class.

"Is it that neither of you thinks I'll be a fair teacher?" he asked at last, looking from one to the other. "I highly doubt you're acting like this because you actually think they're no good."

"Kakashi, it's just, we can't help but wonder…will any team ever be good enough for you?" Minato asked. He was using his 'teacher voice' now. "That last team was not that bad. In fact, another jounin agreed to pick them up and train them once you failed them. We're not worried that they won't do well. We're worried that no one will ever be good enough. You'll never find a team that compares to Obito and Rin, Kakashi. You have to be willing to bring new people into your life."

Itachi didn't comment on the matter, though Kakashi got the feeling that the Uchiha agreed.

"What makes you think that they may not be the ones I'm looking for?" Kakashi asked finally.

Minato and Itachi both seemed to consider this seriously. The white-haired ninja was sure that they were finally seeing his point, but for some reason, neither had backed away yet.

Taking another step back, the white-haired jounin decided to try a different tactic. "Look, would either of you two be comfortable with any teacher for Sasuke and Naruto? Most of the teachers are barely qualified. Asuma and Kurenai are the only other good options. Would you prefer either of them to me?"

Both Itachi and Minato shook their heads immediately. At this, Kakashi muttered indignantly. "Look at it this way, Kakashi. None of those other jounins know us that well, so with any of them as their teachers, Itachi and I would just have to sit back and complain quietly," Minato informed him. "If it's you, we can threaten you with no worries. It makes things simpler."

"Yay for me," Kakashi muttered. "You know you're making me late to meet with them, right?"

"Kakashi, you can't be late to everything," Itachi told him, having dealt with the other's lateness on quite a few occasions.

"It's your fault!"

"Get in there and teach them then!" Minato shouted cheerfully, shoving Kakashi through the door he had finally made it to.

(( _in reality _))

Kakashi shook his head at himself as his thoughts trailed off. He wondered how that had ended up with him getting threatened by both parties, but knew better than to question his own mind.

With a sigh, the jounin got to his feet. It was time for him to go and meet up with his team. As always, he would keep his thoughts from them. Any mentions of Itachi would surely not be a good idea around Sasuke and Kakashi had absolutely no idea what Naruto would think of his thoughts on Minato. And anyways, it was all just a dream, just his imagination coming up with random ideas.

In reality, life was never that fair.

((-))

AN: I'm looking for feedback on this, if anyone's willing to give it. Specifically, I want to know if I should write for more characters, such as Neji or Lee. Let me know what you think. Thanks.


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